Overcoming Obstacles
by Y2Jen
Summary: After Chris Jericho looses the Intercontinental Title, everything seems to fall downhill from there. Now it's up to Chris Benoit to save not only his friend, but his career. *I finished this story*
1. That Oh So Faithful Match

"The following match is for the Intercontinental Title. Making his way to the ring, the champion, Chris Jericho!" The announcer announced. Hi, my name is Chris and this was about to be one of the biggest matches of my life. "And his opponent, Chris Benoit!" I looked at my opponent who was also my best friend. We were shocked when we found out about this match but we had no choice, thank you Vince McMahon! We stood in the ring for a while and just stared at each other, but we knew we had to fight. Ding! We began. It was a pretty good match. I got him in the Walls of Jericho and he got me in the Crippler Cross-face. But it was coming down to the closing and we were both at equal strength and have dished out about the same amount. It was coming down to it, down to the end. I hit a bulldog and went to land a Lionsault but got hit in the gut by Benoit. I was lucky enough to use my cat instincts to land on my feet but when I turned I was kicked in the jaw and slammed with a suplex so fast it made my head spin. 1, 2, 3! Ding, ding! Benoit picked up the win from under my nose. "The winner of the match and the new Intercontinental Champion, Chris Benoit!" The crowd went wild as he held up my once belt. I fell to my knees and stared with a dropped jaw. I lowered my head as Benoit came over to me.  
  
"Chris?" He asked and reached out a hand. I tried to regulate my breathing so it wouldn't look like I wanted to cry.  
  
"Guess you won." I looked up with a forced grin and shook his hand.  
  
"Yea, I guess so." He replied, understanding. At the hotel I lay in my room all night and into the next day thinking, why did I have to loose? Outside in the hall, the wrestlers on the same floor were talking. There was Trish, Lita with her friends Matt and Jeff. RVD and Benoit were in the elevator going to grab a bite to eat so they weren't in on the talk.  
  
"So he's just been in there?" Jeff asked.  
  
"Yea, ever since we got back last night." Lita sighed, she had always liked me.  
  
"Do you think he's depressed about the match?" Trish wondered aloud.  
  
"No, I think he's coming down with a cold." Jeff rolled his eyes sarcastically.  
  
"You mean he's sick?" Matt gasped, not hearing the sarcasm in his tone of voice.  
  
"Ok I've had enough, I'm going in." Lita grumbled and opened the door. I looked over but didn't bother to move, I did feel sick but not the kind of sick where you have a fever or are in pain physically, I was hurt as far as pride and feelings and all that stuff goes. "Want to grab a bite to eat?"  
  
"I'm not hungry." I sighed.  
  
"Do you want to come out and hang out with us?" Lita asked.  
  
"Not now." I replied, and now Lita was getting annoyed.  
  
"Why don't we go to the arena?" Lita went to touch me. "Maybe we can- "  
  
"Leave me alone." I jerked away.  
  
"Hey, I'm just trying to help!" Lita cried.  
  
"Well I don't want it." I sat up and our yelling caused everyone else to run in.  
  
"Hey guys, chill out. Chris, Lita thinks you should be happy." Trish cut us off.  
  
"Why?" I demanded.  
  
"Perhaps if you trained better you would've been able to keep your belt." Matt said. I had no comment for that, he was right.  
  
"Well that's kinda hard, especially for some of us who are dumb or lazy." Lita sighed.  
  
"Who you calling dumb and lazy?" I yelled.  
  
"I didn't call anyone anything, I was talking to myself." Lita groaned.  
  
"I heard what you called me." I stood up and Lita stared at me.  
  
"I said I didn't and I didn't." She cried.  
  
"Well I said you did because you did!" I yelled and we began one of our arguments.  
  
"I didn't!" "You did!" And so on and so on until finally we got tired of it.  
  
"Look, let's just go join Rob and Chris in the lobby." Trish moaned so we all left my room. Maybe some food in my stomach would help, but I dunno if I wanted to see Chris yet. Chris was back in his room when we found Rob in the lobby. We joined him for brunch. A while later, Chris re-joined us.  
  
"Chris!" I called and he came over.  
  
"Paul Hey-man." He sat down, we made up that joke on a long plane trip one night.  
  
"Good luck with your title." I grinned.  
  
"Thanks." Benoit replied. We began to eat. I hadn't eaten for quite a while and was starving. I ate so fast I choked on a bone in my rib rack.  
  
"Just make sure you don't choke like Chris did." Lita said, meaning me  
  
"Well you don't have to put it that way." I grinned after taking a big, long drink. Benoit laughed, it seemed that we were all getting back to normal. For tonight on SmackDown, Benoit would be putting his title up against Triple H, talk about in the interest of fairness, thanks again Vince McMahon! SmackDown went by fast. I had a match against Kane and I got pretty beat up, I got quite a chokeslam, I doubt Kane meant to hurt me that bad but man! I was watching the match with Lita and the Hardy Boyz since they had a TV in their locker room, lucky guys. Chris was doing great, I could tell he wanted to win it for the both of us. It was getting time for the finish and both of them knew it. Benoit decided to end it fast and now with a cross-face. But Triple H was smarter than that, he countered it and landed quite the Pedegree and went for the cover. 1, 2, 3!  
  
"The winner of this match and the new Intercontinental Champion, Triple H!" The announcer said and the crowd applauded. I was shocked.  
  
"I cant' believe he lost." Lita whispered, I said nothing, I was too stunned to speak. That night, I found Chris standing on the ledge over the parking lot staring at the sky. I decided to join him.  
  
"Chris." I said and he motioned for me to come over. We smiled but were silent.  
  
"You know Chris, now we have more than one thing in common." He spoke up.  
  
"In common? Oh." I understood.  
  
"We can learn a lot from losing, we can counter our mistakes and make ourselves better." Chris said finally. I began to think, he's not upset that he lost while I've been acting like a big baby. "Hey Chris, let's make a pact. We'll become the Champ no matter what."  
  
"Hu?" I turned to him. "Ok. World Champions, that's us!" I hoped everyone heard us. "Come on, let's get our stuff in the car so we can head back to the hotel."  
  
"That's a good idea. I bet the rest of the guys are waiting." Chris agreed and so we left. 


	2. The Story Is Out

"Hey Chris, wake up!" Lita was pounding on the door. I groaned and turned my head to the clock. It was already 8, but I was still too tired to care.  
  
"Just come in." I called and she did. I could see that Jeff was with her. "What, no Matt?"  
  
"Come on lazy, we're heading for breakfast." Lita grinned.  
  
"Vince called a meeting to discuss our match on PPV this Sunday." Jeff added. I nodded and went into the bathroom to brush my hair. I came out to see them watching the news. "Alright then, if you're ready, let's get the show on the road." At breakfast we met up with Benoit who was eating with Triple H and RVD.  
  
"Chris, Rob, Paul!" I called and the turned.  
  
"Hey Chris, morning." Rob replied.  
  
"You sound tired." Paul joked. "Still as starved as the bottomless pit?"  
  
"Can you spell Mr. Roboto with Robot?" Chris laughed. I joined them but wasn't to hungry so I just had a glass of milk.  
  
"Guys we'd better see what the boss wants." Matt said, coming from around the corner. We followed him to the 6th floor where Vince room was. Everyone was in there now and we were getting our match assignments scheduled out. I was going to have a match against Kane again but with no dq. Lita and the Hardy Boyz would be going against Trish and E&C, Benoit and Triple H would be having a rematch. RVD and Kurt and Rock were going to have a number one contender match to meet Stone Cold on another day.  
  
"Ok, now I want you to set the match out so we can make this as good as it gets." Vince said and we all said we would. "By the way, we're leaving for the airport at 1 so you'd better clean out your rooms and get ready." He added and we would do just that. Cleaning didn't take too long so I watched some TV. Daytime shows aren't half as good as nighttime shows, but hey, I already knew that. Chris and I met up in the elevator and we headed to the lot.  
  
"So where are we headed to now?" I asked, just to start up a conversation.  
  
"We're going to Miami." Benoit said.  
  
"Oh yea." I had forgotten. "I can't wait to visit everyone back in Tampa." We got or rent-a-cars and drove to the airport where all of us waited for the half hour late plane. The ride wouldn't take so long since it was Manhattan to Miami. We arrived when the sun was just about starting to set.  
  
"Hey, doesn't that look nice?" Benoit pointed at it out the window.  
  
"Yea. Aw, it's a Kodiak moment." I joked and roared like a bear. Benoit grinned, he liked that joke. Me and Benoit seemed to be coming closer over the past few months. Then again, we'd always been friends but never this close as best friends. I hope RVD and Triple H aren't too jealous but then again, they have best friends of their own. We all got to the hotel in time for dinner. That night we had a great night sleep and I even slept in, something I hadn't done in a long time. I could hear Benoit in the room next to mine he was already watching TV. I got cleaned up in the bathroom and met the gang for breakfast.  
  
"How you doing?" We all greeted each other at the same time. We were making fun of that beer commercial we had seen last night during the meeting. I was pretty hungry so I got a lot of meat for breakfast to build up and get ready for my match with Kane tonight. We all talked and laughed but that was a mistake on my account. I had just stuffed a big bite of Belgian waffle in my mouth when I was joking and laughing about when I began to choke. Benoit began to pound my back as everyone looked concerned.  
  
"Hey Chris, here drink this!" Rob handed me his milk. I drank it and became free of the choke hold of the food.  
  
"Thanks Rob. Heh, I guess that waffle was preparing me for a choke slam from Kane tonight." I joked and everybody began to laugh again. But I knew deep down, something was wrong. Chris and I went back to my hotel room while the others went to go around town.  
  
"Don't you wanna go around and visit like you wanted to?" He asked but I turned on the TV. That's when he could tell something was bugging me in the back of my mind. "Chris, what is it? What's wrong?" Benoit is so soul mate, he knows when I'm thinking seriously.  
  
"Well, remember when I choked?" I asked as I headed into the bathroom to get a glass of water. Chris said he remembered as he followed me. "Well, I didn't just choke because I was talking and stuff with my mouth full."  
  
"Ha, like that's anything new?" Beniot joked. "You just naturally have a big mouth and your eyes can't make up for it." I drank the water and cringed. "You mean you're sick?"  
  
"No, well, I dunno, I just have that feeling." I sighed with a shrug. He came over to me. "I can't tell Vince, he'll cancel my match and I'll miss the PPV." I told my serious friend.  
  
"If you really feel that way." Benoit sighed, knowing what I was doing was wrong. "Well, do you just have a sore throat or what?"  
  
"Yea. I mean if I had a fever or something, then Vince could tell because I'd be tired right? Well, as long as I cough when nobody is around and clear my throat a lot, none of the others will be the wiser. Do you think that will work?" I asked and he just shrugged. "Ok then, it's settled. I won't even tell Kane, just keep it quiet you and me, ok?" He said he would. At the arena, I was very self-conscious and I got to my room without bumping into anyone. I got on my gear and watched the show from my TV in the locker room. It came time for my match and I heard the bang on my door that a superstar from the previous match is supposed to do. I opened the door, the coast was clear. I made it to the ring and came out after Kane. The match began. I did pretty good. I saved the coughing until I did a lionsault so it would play along. But I had to do two lionsaults to get it out of my system. I got ready for a Walls of Jericho and like planned, Kane countered and delivered a tombstone. I had a foot on the ropes so I was able to put Kane in a roll up where he kicked out. It was coming down to the end, Kane just gave me a boot to the face and thank god, I needed to cough so it was perfect. Then it was time for the chokeslam. He slapped his hand onto my neck and I cried out in pain, only then realizing how raw my voice was becoming and the vibration of his hand on my neck triggered the tingling again. He slammed me to the mat back first and I let out a few coughs as he got the cover. 1, 2, 3! Kane won the match and we headed backstage as the final match was taking place. I headed to my locker room only to be greeted by Kane.  
  
"Chris?" His voice sounded stern. I gave him a 'what' face. "What's the matter?" I gave him a confused expression. "In the match. Did you have something to drink before the match and I was causing you to choke on it or something?" I understood what he was trying to say and it sounded like a good alaby. I nodded my head yes. "Ok then, just checking on you." He patted my shoulder. "Oh, good match too." He left. I went in the room and sighed, I had won. I changed and went over to meet Benoit in his locker room.  
  
"Chris, you ready?" I asked as I opened the door. My voice sounded really bad now. I tensed when I saw him talking to RVD and Triple H. "What are you doing here?" I gulped.  
  
"Whoa." They took a step back. "Are you ok?"  
  
"Yea, yea, yea." I said and gave Benoit a look, did he tell them. "Coming?"  
  
"Yea." They said and left first, me and Chris followed.  
  
"Did you?" I whispered and he understood what I meant.  
  
"No, but I bet they know now." He growled and I lowered my eyes. "Look, why don't you just tell Vince?"  
  
"Hey, it's cool. Why don't we all just go back to the hotel and forget about it?" I asked. We would be staying in Florida until the end of the week, so we had time to settle in. That night, I couldn't sleep. I kept coughing into my sheets so nobody would hear but I bet Chris knew. That morning I could hear Chris, Rob and Hunter at my door. I rolled to my stomach and saw that it was 9:30 but I was still out of it. "Go away or come in!" I called but my voice came out squeaky and cracked. They came in. Dam, I was sure they'd go to eat without me.  
  
"Man, you sound really bad now." Triple H said as they came up to me. I just turned on the TV and sat on my mangled bed sheets. I turn on the TV whenever I want to tune somebody out, it's just become a trademark thing of mine. I had tossed and turned so much last night that it wore me out and that's the only reason I got to sleep when I did.  
  
"Maybe we should take you to a doctor." RVD suggested but I leered at him. Benoit sat down beside me. I felt horrible but I couldn't admit it and let my pride get shot. I turned my head away from him and he sighed, shaking his head. He got up and went to the bathroom. RVD and Triple H watched him. I felt like a stubborn little kid who was embarrassed since he knew he did something wrong.  
  
"Ok man." Benoit returned and I looked at him. "Open up." I stared at him, RVD and Triple H looked at each other and then back at us. "Say ah." He went on but none of us moved. He sighed and felt my neck. I had no clue what he was doing but I let him be, hoping that he'd just leave me alone after that. That's all I wanted to be that day, alone. Then I'd go to the arena, put on a great show and come back here to hit the hay. "Come on!" Benoit demanded suddenly and the three of us jumped. "Sorry." He blushed a bit.  
  
"Hey, if he doesn't want to." RVD sighed.  
  
"Yea, leave the baby alone." Triple H agreed, talking in a mocking voice.  
  
"I'm not a baby." I leered at him. "I, uh, just don't want to. I hurt to much."  
  
"I'll tell Vince." Benoit got a grin on and I turned to him.  
  
"You wouldn't dare." I gasped but tried to growl. Soon I realized I was outnumbered. "Fine, you win. But you owe me." I pouted and Chris looked at me as if to say, I do?  
  
"I love reverse psychology." RVD laughed.  
  
"What?" Triple H looked confused.  
  
"Ok ready, come on man." I cut in, wanting to get this over with. "I've got dinner plans."  
  
"Sure ya do." Benoit smirked. "Alright." Chris, knowing how uncomfortable I was with all this, he put away the stick he brought from the bathroom. He turned on the little flashlight he always carried with him and stared into my mouth. I was thankful that my friends cared about me so much, but I was even more thankful that he wasn't probing me with any of those doctor tools. I've always hated hospitals and my friends respected that. I was glad. After a while, Chris let me close my mouth and he began to think. "Ok."  
  
"Well?" Triple H asked.  
  
"Shut up and let the doctor do his work." RVD teased.  
  
  
  
"If you mind?" I playfully socked Rob in the shoulder but began to cough again.  
  
"Well, I am no doctor but I think that you just might have laryngitis." Chris said.  
  
"Well that's a big surprise. I think I'm gonna have a heart attack and die from that surprise." RVD joked.  
  
"You need to lay off the sugar." I laughed. "And leave let me do the movie reciting." I grabbed my sore neck and cleared the tickle out of my throat.  
  
"So it's not just a regular sore throat?" Triple H began to think.  
  
"I'm afraid not and sooner or later Vince will find out." Chris added.  
  
"Yea." We all agreed. I sighed, putting my head in my hands.  
  
"So, what do we do?" I gulped and we turned to the scheming Benoit.  
  
"Guys, don't worry." He stood up and turned off the TV. "For I have a plan." 


	3. The Plan

"We're late, hurry up!" I could hear Edge calling to Christian. We were scheduled for a non-televised live show. I groaned and rolled on my stomach to check my watch. I realized that it was already past 9:30 and we were supposed to leave at 10.  
  
"Great, I hope Benoit comes up with a good plan." I sighed and that's when I got a knock on my door. I opened it to greet Chris. "Hey, what's up?" My voice cracked the greeting.  
  
"Ok, I have the plan all set out. It has to work and nothing can fall astray or the whole plan will fall." He replied. "Now, here's what we're gonna do. There's this think going on called silence or something and it's where you take an oath of silence for the day to remember, uh, I forget what, some war or something. But any who, Vince catches you in the act when you sign at a fake petition stand being run by one of my friends I know here. Then later on tonight, I go tell him that you took the oath of silence and can't talk. Not on stage and not backstage."  
  
"Wow, it seems a little complicated, but I think it might work." I thought.  
  
"Might? It's a sure winner. I saw the same trick pulled off before." Chris assured. I got word that Vince would be going over to a local McDonald's to have a coffee and sausage muffin. The petition booth would be posted there and I was waiting with Benoit's friend. Vince walked in and that's when I began to sign the phony form. When Vince walked out, I could tell that he was looking at me and at the explanation.  
  
"Hey, that sounds fun, mind if I join in?" He asked and the man and I turned to him. This wasn't expected, what would we do now?  
  
"Sorry sir, that was my last form." The man said. Vince shrugged and walked away. The two of us sighed and turned to each other. "Whew, that was a close one, no?"  
  
"Yea, really. Thanks man." I laughed with a slight grin. I helped him clean up and throw the stuff out in a local dump bin behind the fast food joint.  
  
"Hey man, you should really see a doctor about that." The man added before driving away. I gave him a forced grin and got in the taxi to go back to the hotel. I met Benoit in the elevator and we nodded.  
  
"So far so good?" He asked and I nodded yes. "You know, it's fake, you can talk."  
  
"I know, I was merely trying to save my voice." I smirked and he chuckled. At lunch, we didn't dare explain our plot to any of our friends so we kept the petition story going. It was time for Benoit's move. He approached Vince when he was going to refill his soda.  
  
"Vince?" He called and Vince turned to him with a smile. "I just wanted to let you know that Chris can't talk today."  
  
"Oh I already know, I saw him at a petition booth of some kind." Vince replied. "I understand. I guess it must be a local think for just Florida."  
  
"Maybe." Beniot shrugged. Vince nodded and went back to his table. "Whew. It worked." After lunch, Vince went back to his room when he came across The Rock in the elevator.  
  
"Hey Rocky." He called.  
  
"Hi Vince!" He waved and held the door for him so he wouldn't have to wait for the next time. "What's up?"  
  
"Oh nothing, just want to see how you are." He said. "Hey, I do have one question. You guys have homes here too right? Have you ever seen any petitions for a day of silence in remembrance of the Persian Gulf war?"  
  
"Possibly, I wouldn't know." Rock shrugged. "We've been on the road after all."  
  
"Yea, that's true, you probably didn't even live here during the war." Vince nodded. "Well, thanks guys. Just wondering off the top of my head." The elevator opened and he left. That night, I was one of the last to come to the arena, even after Stephanie who was usually last. But I still was feeling a little uneasy. What if my voice got worse tomorrow, the petition would be useless unless Benoit worked something into our plan. Vince came up to me. "Hey Chris." I grinned to say hello. "I understand about the petition thing, that's very noble of you. I don't have you doing any promos tonight so you can relax." I nodded with a smile. "By the way, you're in a match tonight with The Big Show." He said and walked off. I sighed and went to gear up. My match was in the middle of the program so I had some time to plan the match out in my head and relax. It was hard. I couldn't put him in the Walls of Jericho and the process agitated my voice. Then when I went for a lionsault I had to do a recovery and land on my feet, so I couldn't cough this time. Then it was time for the finale. Big Show grabbed me by the neck when I went for a spear off the ropes, and that really hurt. He slammed me to the mat and picked up the victory. I cried out but couldn't remember a thing after that. From what Benoit told me, I had been knocked out and when the trainer, Dan, was looking me over he found out that I was sick and I woke up in the hospital with Chris, Rob and Hunter talking to a nurse. This was a horrible nightmare come true.  
  
"What am I doing here?" I demanded and my cracked voice caught there attention. I sat up to find I was still in my regular cloths, fortunately. I began to tear off the cords connected to me and jumped out of bed. I was a little dizzy since they knocked me out with something.  
  
"Take it easy tiger!" Chris called and ran over to help me stand up. He put me down.  
  
"Benoit!" I complained. "I'm fine, why did you do this?"  
  
"It wasn't up to me it was up to Vince. I'm sorry." He said. Rob, Hunter and the nurse eventually came up.  
  
"I'm sorry Chris, but this is for your own good." RVD sighed.  
  
"We don't know how long you'll have to be staying here." Triple H added.  
  
"And from the info we have, it looks like it might be for quite a long time." The nurse added.  
  
"But what about the match?" I asked, my voice shivering. The trio was shooed out of the room and would have to wait for visiting hours, which weren't until tomorrow morning starting at 8. I was going to be left alone, in a hospital with a bunch of doctors. Yep, it's sure good to be back here in Florida... 


	4. I Hate Hospitals!

"Visiting hours are now beginning." A voice over the microphone that went through the whole hospital was heard. I looked around as I woke up. Everything was as I had left it. My bag was still on the floor next to me, I still had my cloths on and nothing was attached to me. The hospital was in no way affecting me, or as I could tell right now. I turned on the television to watch something. There were only cartoons on since it was Saturday but I enjoy shows like Jackie Chan Adventures, Yu-Gi-Oh, X-Men and such. I watched TV for about an hour or so before I got a knock on the door.  
  
"Whatever you're selling, I don't want any." I called but it caused me to cough. It was Triple H. "Oh, hey Paul. What's up?"  
  
"You're health sure aint one of the things that is." He joked and patted my head. He sat down in the chair next to mine and followed my gaze to the TV set. "What's on?"  
  
"The Mummy." I replied, my eyes not moving of the show. "No Rock though."  
  
"Dwayne sure gets a lot more attention than we do." Triple H sighed. I began to break down into a coughing fit again. "Hey, hey, take it easy bro. I didn't mean to get you upset." He smirked but then patted my back. "Did they tell you anything?"  
  
"Who?" I asked, finally looking at him.  
  
"The boogie man, the doctors who'd you think?" He laughed.  
  
"No, thank god, I haven't seen one since I was in here." I replied.  
  
"Or when you were out." Triple H got up and picked up the chart on the end of my bed.  
  
"No, duh." I laughed but went back to the show, the commercials were over.  
  
"Aha." Triple H said aloud to himself as he read it, making faces. "Oh, ouch. Ew. Man."  
  
"Spare me the dribbling, is it bad, good, whatever?" I laughed, trying to stay amused.  
  
"Uh, on a serious note, it's not too good." Triple H gulped and I stared at him. He handed me the chart and I tried to make out all of the nonsense on it.  
  
"Paul, please explain." I gulped, my voice cracking part from the pain, part from the fear.  
  
"Well, I'm not sure but I remember Christian saying something about it. He said something like, if you don't get it treated right away it can lead to an operation or cause you to get sicker like this much more often in the future." Triple H tried to explain. I stared at him with a dropped jaw. We looked at each other, not knowing what to think, say or do. He finally began to move his eyes and noticed my jaw was still dropped. He grabbed it and began to pry my lips apart to inspect the situation himself. "Oh man! Good god!" He closed my mouth and shook his head, I noticed he was getting upset.  
  
"What? Bad breath? Please say it is!" I whimpered.  
  
"Hey I'm sorry man but, this is just jacked!" He cried and stood up, holding his hands in the air. That's when RVD walked into the room.  
  
"I thought we were all going to visit him as a surprise." Rob asked, cock eyed.  
  
"I uh, I have to go. See you guys later." Triple H stammered and left. I sighed sadly.  
  
"What's with him?" Rob asked, oblivious. I really had no idea, I just shrugged.  
  
"You really don't want to know." I shivered. He went to go read the chart, after seeing it on the chair next to my bed. I sighed and lay my head back against the pillow.  
  
"So, how you doing as far as being in a hospital goes?" RVD asked out of the blue.  
  
"I'm living in hell." I groaned. "You really don't want to look at that, take it from Paul."  
  
"Hey, I can take it." He grinned. "I mean everything's cool and whatever. Oh, by the way, the Hardy's and Lita wanted me to send their wishes to get well."  
  
"Thanks." I tried so smile a little. I could see his face change while reading.  
  
"Oh man, I'm sorry. Is that what got to Paul?" He asked and I lowered my eyes. "Well, don't take it so hard. This almost happened to him but he recovered at the last moment."  
  
"Oh I see. So the story about Christian was all fake." I sighed and RVD nodded.  
  
"Don't worry, I'm here for you." Rob put his hand on my shoulder. "I mean, when I was little, my brother got this from another kid while shooting a commercial. I saw what he went through so I wanted to get it out of the way. See." He opened his mouth. I didn't know much about the human body and I had no idea what he walk taking about, so I couldn't tell no difference. All I noticed was that he had a filling in his back molar.  
  
"Yea." I sighed, just saying anything to put this aside for just one conversation.  
  
"Hey, cheer up man." He replied. "I mean, I was young so I don't remember the pain or whatever but I know you'll make it through. You are after all Y2J Chris Jericho."  
  
"Thanks." I grinned, but I really got scared when he said the word 'pain'.  
  
"Oh, I have to go. I was meeting Edge at Jack in the Box." Rob said. "By."  
  
"Later." I gave a sloppy salute of a wave and went back to the cartoons. I turned on the TV to just channel surf, and that's when the door opened. It was Benoit. "Hey man."  
  
"Paul, where?" Benoit joked. "I never tire of that. How you doing?"  
  
"How you doing?" I asked, trying to sound like an Australian but it hurt too badly.  
  
"I ran into Paul earlier and he told me what happened. I'm really sorry man." He sighed.  
  
"Hey, don't be. I mean, I've had a good run." I muttered as he picked up the chart.  
  
"Hey! Don't say that, I'm sure it's not that bad." Beniot lectured me. The door opened again and a doctor and nurse entered. I gulped, my expression literally fell as I felt my heart leap in my chest. Benoit turned off the TV. I saw a tray of tools and I turned white.  
  
"I'm sorry, but no visitor can be in here while we work." The nurse said. Benoit was shooed out but we managed to wave to each other. He saw how scared I looked though.  
  
"Ok, now let's just take a look at you." The doctor came over. "I know you aren't too fond of all this, your friends explained everything. But I promise this wont be long and it wont hurt." I gulped, that's what they all say. He turned on a light that was attached to the wall almost like a dentist has. He and the nurse put on masks and I saw them going through the tools on the cart while talking. This reminded me of the first time I got a filling when I was 16 and it all went wrong and I had to have it done a second time in the same day. I really hate shots most of all and getting a double dose didn't help at all.  
  
"Here you are sir." The nurse handed the doctor a stick, a q-tip and some kind of metal tool. I quivered. The nurse was to hold my mouth open while the doctor did his work, and whatever it was, it didn't look too pleasing. This really was like the dentist trip, I had a bad feeling about this, but I opened my mouth and stuck out my tongue out anyway. The nurse placed the stick down hard on my tongue so that it was a kind of struggle to breathe.  
  
"Say ah." The doctor instructed and I did. It was quite painful. I heard the doctor say to open my mouth further and I did as the nurse pulled my jaws apart. I'm doing it as far as I can so isn't that enough, I was thinking to myself. I could feel the stick poking down the back of my tongue and a sharp pain scraping down the back wall of my throat. I could see it was the q-tip, and I bet he was taking a sample to study. Why people go into this profession is beyond me. I heard the nurse say something about my tonsils and that's when he got the metal tool. I tensed and the doctor saw that I was in fear. "Don't worry Chris, we're just looking and taking samples so there's no reason to be afraid." He promised but I knew better. He aimed the light closer and I had to close my eyes to the brightness. I felt a pain on the sides of my throat, almost like a shot poking into them. I wanted to cry but I knew it would be over and a big bonus check was waiting for me.  
  
"How is he?" I heard the nurse speak up.  
  
"I don't know." The doctor tried to be quiet. The nurse handed the doctor a tiny metal stick. I couldn't tell what it was with my eyes closed but it was probably another weird tool doctors used for taking samples in your throat. Just keep it up Chris, you're doing fine. It will be over quite soon." I could feel the cold pole on my throat and I tightened my eyes, I wanted to gag so badly it stung. A few minutes later, they took the stuff out of my mouth and I could finally relax. I broke down into a coughing fit trying to catch my breath. It was done, over. The doctor turned to me as the nurse cleaned up. "Thanks for being so patient, we'll have the test results later." I nodded and they left, finally. Benoit was waiting outside, god bless his soul, and he came in.  
  
"How was it?" He asked.  
  
"Oh god is was torture!" I replied and felt like I really would cry. "This is horrible, why did this have to happen to me?" I could feel my throat tighten, I was starting to cry.  
  
"Maybe if you listened to us in the first place, it wouldn't have gotten this bad. But as your friend, I stay by your side." Benoit replied.  
  
"Thanks." I replied, sniffing to stop the tears from forming. I wanted to not cry in front of my friend but I know I already was less of a man to them after all of this. I fell asleep so Benoit got to watch the TV. I woke up to see him looking at my updated chart.  
  
"Man, you really are sick. I feel so sorry for you." He replied.  
  
"I don't even want to look at that." I groaned and the nurse came in.  
  
"Hi Chris. The doctor wanted me to tell you. The tests are done and the results are in." She said. Chris and I tensed as she concluded, "It's confirmed, you have tonsillitis." 


	5. The Great Escape

"When will the operation take place?" Benoit asked outside.  
  
"Well, you see, he's too sick to operate on yet, so he'll have to stay here until he's well enough." The nurse replied. "And who knows how long that can take."  
  
"Thank you." Benoit said and he left. I couldn't blame him. Night crept up slowly and I realized, I didn't want to go out this way. I was tough, strong, a fighter and I wanted to go out fighting. I grabbed my bag, stuffed pillows under my sheets to make it seem like I was there, and I slowly went to the window. I was on the second floor above the entrance where there was a ledge I could jump onto and leap to the ground safely. I did just that and took a taxi back to the hotel. I decided to take the stairs, nobody ever did. I got to the sixth floor before I heard people coming so I exited to the floor. I looked around for safety and found an open door, it led to Vince's room. I ran in and dove under the bed to hide. But what I didn't know was there was a conspiracy going on with Vince while I was gone. Edge and Christian would have to compete in a tables and ladder match with the APA and they didn't want to. Vince wasn't around and they just happened to be on the floor, so they snuck up and hid under the bed. None of them noticed me and I didn't notice them.  
  
"So you want to go against RVD?" Vince's voice could be heard. We all went quiet, we didn't know he was talking to Rikishi. "Well, just take a seat and we can talk about it."  
  
"Alright then, don't mind if I do." Rikishi said and we all tensed as he sat down sharply on the bed. The three of us let out a scream and Rikishi jumped up, as did Vince. The three of us climbed out from under the bed. First Edge, then Christian and I slowly came out last. Rikishi had a solomn, yet embarrassed look as if he predicted he'd do something like this. Vince noticed Edge and Christian first.  
  
"What are you doing under there?" Vince demanded, I tried to sneak out the open door.  
  
"We wanted to hear about our match and you never told us when we asked." Edge said.  
  
"And you're always talking to the APA and we're curious." Christian added.  
  
"Well that explains that then, just tell me next time ok?" Vince replied.  
  
"What about you, aren't you supposed to be at the doctors?" Rikishi asked me. I gulped, stopping in my tracks. Everyone turned to me and I felt like public enemy number one.  
  
"I'm sorry guys, it was too much and I couldn't take it anymore." I sighed. Benoit came into the room as I finished my statement. He sighed and rolled his eyes.  
  
"Let me guess, you chickened out?" He grumbled. I lowered my head. He explained to everyone the situation so that they could understand from my point of view.  
  
"First of all, Chris, we're taking you back to the doctor." Vince began.  
  
"But!" I whined.  
  
"Shut up!" He cut me off. He was pissed. "Then, you're going to be suspended for a week after Sunday and thirdly, you have to have a 10% pay cut." Everyone was shocked.  
  
"Vince, all he did was," Christian began, feeling the punishment was too harsh.  
  
"Hey!" Vince pointed a warning finger at him and he closed his mouth. "Now, Chris, take him back to the doctors now and don't come back until this is all settled. Got it!"  
  
"Yes sir." He whispered. I grinned to myself at him. He really was a true friend. At the doctors, Chris apologized on my behalf and asked the doctor if there were any other options.  
  
"Well, you can take medication for about a week and that will just limit you to a normal common cold sore throat. But after this is all over, you'll be more vulnerable to viruses there." He explained as he got out a prescription form.  
  
"That's fine, perfect." I tried to sound positive, but I frankly couldn't give a care.  
  
"Ok then." The doctor began to write things down. "Go to the nearest pharmacy and get this." He handed us the paper. "Good luck and good by." We left and I was already feeling better. We went to a pharmacist about a mile or so away and waited about 20 min. for the medicine.  
  
"Here you are sir." The girl behind the counter handed it to him.  
  
"Thank you." Benoit said for me. I could tell she was new here.  
  
"Just to let you know sir," I heard her add before we could go away back to the hotel to tell Vince and the others the story. "This happened to me too. I got the same stuff and to tell the truth, I had this about 7 or 8 years ago and I haven't gotten as sick as that or even close to it since. I just think the doctors are trying to scare us out of our money and pride."  
  
"Never has anyone else sounded so good." I grinned at her. "Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome." She grinned. "And by the way, Y2J Chris Jericho." I turned back around. She was a wrestling fan? "I'm a big fan of you, and you too Chris Benoit. I hope you have a nice time here in Florida."  
  
"Thank you." I read her name-tag. "Ashley."  
  
"Sure, good luck in the future and on Sunday." She grinned. We all said our good by's and the two of us were soon back in Vince's room.  
  
"And you're sure about all this?" Vince asked Benoit and he nodded. "Well Chris, you got off the hook and you're pretty lucky. Just, try to be more careful next time ok?"  
  
"Ok boss, no problem." I assured, hoping it would never have to come to this again.  
  
"Come on, let's get some sleep. This has sure been one heck of an adventure." Benoit said to me in the hall after leaving Vince's room. In the elevator I thanked him again but half way through, I broke down into another coughing fit. "That's my Chris alright." We grinned. That night I actually fell asleep and got a good night rest. I would be ready for my match on the PPV and as far as the week suspension and 10% pay cut goes, I'll take that over the hospital and a doctor operating on me any day. I woke up the next morning and my friends came over to see how I was. I was dressed and packed, so were they. Trish, Benoit, Triple H, RVD, The Hardy Boyz, Edge and Christian were soon all in the room waiting for me to get ready.  
  
"So, how were the pills?" Benoit asked finally.  
  
"Oh, I forgot about them." I slapped my forehead. I told them they could sit on the bed and watch TV as I found the bottle in the bathroom. The pills were small thankfully but I got a big glass of water just in case. I never liked to take pills since they usually got stuck in my throat. I came out and took a deep breath. I was one more step closer to recovery. "I'm ready to train harder." I said aloud to myself, forgetting my friends were there.  
  
"Chris?" Lita's voice cut me out of my daydream and I turned to them, realizing they were still there. They all stood looking at me with a grin. I grinned back.  
  
"Are you ready to go to WrestleMania?" I grinned and we grabbed our luggage and ran out of the room, talking and laughing. Everything was pretty much back to normal now, though I still may be sick, I'm all that closer to being better. And when we do get to the arena, I'll put on one hell of a show, because I'll be off on vacation for a little while.. 


End file.
